4 - Kuwait Oil Company

she said, adding that she liked toview the Holy Quran as a “gift”which, when unraveled, revealedricher and deeper meaningunderneath its layers. What makesthe gift of the Holy Quran evenmore valuable is the fact that thereis only one version of it, and ithas never been altered. Everysingle letter and diacritic mark isuniform across every single copyof the Holy Quran, which is quitean accomplishment consideringthe fact that it is the most widelyprinted book in the world.Lessons for All MankindBy reading and studying theHoly Quran, one can cometo understand that Allah(SWT) addressed the ProphetMuhammad (PBUH) with variousinstructions, encouraged himto do or say certain things, andeven reproached him on variousoccasions. While some of theseinstructions were directedspecifically for Prophet Muhammad(PBUH), the underlying essence ofthe Holy Quran serves as a manualfor guiding all of mankind andproviding us with lessons aboutmorality and spirituality. In part,the Quran provides instructions onhow to conduct oneself as a sonor daughter, parent, employee, orperson.“If you want to know how to behappy, I recommend reading theHoly Quran,” Dr. Lesher said.“Reading the Quran will allow youto discover patterns of instructionson how to be happy.” Dr. Lesherwent on to say that studyingthe Holy Quran aids in thedevelopment of moral reasoningand spirituality. Thought processessuch as logic and assimilationare also developed throughstudy of the Quran, and recitingand memorizing the Quran is acommon practice among Muslimswhich can help in keeping a sharpmind while increasing memory.Translations and theLanguage of the QuranAlthough Arabic was an establishedlanguage at the time of therevelation of the Holy Quran, thereis no doubt that it became moresophisticated and complex afterits arrival. Before the Holy Quran,Arabic was rudimentary in nature;however, the language was refinedthanks in great part to the diacriticrules that were introduced in theQuran. In addition, the Holy Quranencouraged higher thought andlearning, as is evidenced in themeaning of the name of the Quranitself, which relates to the Arabicverb qara’a, meaning “he read” or“he recited.”“Today, there are countlessnumbers of books in Arabic thatdiscuss the meaning of variouswords, passages, and suras of theQuran,” said Dr. Lesher. “Arabic is adeep and rich language, so a singlepassage can have pages and pagesof commentary.”To understand this commentary,Dr. Lesher pointed out that it isof great benefit to understandthe Arabic language itself, asno knowledge of the HolyQuran does it justice if it is notunderstood in its original language.“It is impossible to portray theHoly Quran’s depth, rhythm,Audience members listen to the presentationconnotations and subtlety in adifferent language other thanArabic,” she said, adding, “Youcan’t really call a translation theQuran, but only an approximationof the Quran. In translation, thingsare lost, and this is definitely truein the case of the Quran.”After her presentation to theaudience, Dr. Lesher invited thosein attendance to take part in adiwaniya discussion of the HolyQuran, where audience membersasked questions and engaged inthoughtful discussion about Islam’sholy book.The AWARE Center, which standsfor Advocates for Western-ArabRelations, is a non-profit, nongovernmental,and non-politicalorganization that works towardspromoting positive, constructiverelations between Westernersand Arabs by organizing socialactivities and information servicesrelated to Arab and Islamicculture. In its mission statement,the AWARE Center states thatit is dedicated to becoming the“Cultural gateway for Westerners toexplore Arab/Islamic culture andcivilization by facilitating socialencounters, educational activities,dialogue, cultural exchange, andintercultural friendship.” Part ofthis goal is accomplished by hostinga new speaker every week.October - December 2012 47